50. Scarlett

Chapter 50

Scarlett

S carlett found herself standing on rocky ground amidst a forest of trees. It was cold, and there was a thick fog that made it impossible to see more than three feet in front of her. She pulled a dagger from her hip and looked down at the panther beside her.

"The Forest? Again?" she murmured quietly.

It was silent here. No birds. No other animals. No wind to make the leaves rustle. Just utter, eerie silence. She began walking slowly forward, feeling down that bond for Sorin, but she felt nothing. She tried to Travel as she had done a few times now, but she either hadn't mastered that enough, or she couldn't access that magic here. Shirina was just as silent by her side. At least the panther was here. Although she wasn't entirely sure why she found that comforting. Every time the panther showed up, some startling new information was revealed.

She found a path that wound between the trees and began following it, but the sound of snapping branches and twigs had her whirling to her left. She palmed her dagger as a giant black wolf stepped from the fog along with Talwyn .

"Where have you brought me this time, cousin?" Scarlett asked, her voice low and steely.

"I did not do this, Scarlett," Talwyn replied. She sounded exhausted, as if she hadn't slept in days. "Furthermore, while I know I said I sent Shirina to take you to the Oracle, it was more of a suggestion. She responds to very few."

Scarlett straightened as she took in the queen. She was barefoot, wearing only black pants and a white tunic. Other than the dagger she was holding, she didn't have any weapons on her. She'd never seen her in anything other than her brown pants, white tunic top, and armed to the teeth.

"Maliq brought you here?"

Talwyn merely nodded once. "Although a warning would have been nice, so I could have at least put on boots," she grumbled.

"You grabbed a dagger, but didn't put on boots?" Scarlett asked doubtfully.

"You will come to find that when your Spirit Animal comes to you, it is generally wise not to waste time in accompanying them," Talwyn replied haughtily.

The black wolf had trotted over and sat beside the panther. Jade and silver eyes watched the two cousins.

"What do they want?" Scarlett asked Talwyn.

"I do not know," she answered, her tone slightly resentful.

"I'm assuming we're in Shira Forest?" Scarlett tried again.

"No."

"No?"

"I am unsure where we are," Talwyn snapped, stomping past Scarlett. "I was hoping you would know."

Scarlett turned to follow as she began making her way down the path. "Why would I know where we are?"

"I said I was hoping you would know. Apparently, that hope was misplaced. We are here to learn something," Talwyn said. Maliq and Shirina had taken the lead now. "What has the Fire Prince told you of the Spirit Animals?"

Scarlett sheathed her dagger as they continued to follow the animals ahead of them. "That they are a bond between a person and one of the gods. That they are a guide of some sort for those to whom they are bonded."

"Yes and no," Talwyn said, shaking her head. "Yes, they are linked to us and aid us, but they have their own purposes for their true masters."

"The gods," Scarlett supplied dubiously. Their pace had slowed as they'd come to the edge of the trees. There was only rocky wasteland before them now, and they stopped as they stepped from the cover of the trees.

"Yes, the gods. There is something we are meant to learn here. Maliq taking me to the Oracle is how I learned of you," Talwyn replied simply.

"And it is unexpected that Lady Celeste brought you here," said a cool, calculating voice from behind them.

The queens spun around to find the beautiful man standing behind them. His shoulder-length silver hair was tied back, and the eagle perched on his shoulder. He was completely in black, as he had been every other time Scarlett had seen him, and his silver eyes went straight to her.

Talwyn had her dagger cocked to throw as she said with a snarl, "Who the fuck are you?"

"Relax, Fae Queen," the man drawled. "I will not hurt you this time."

This time?

Oh gods. Scarlett flashed back to a dream months ago. A dream where he had been there, and Talwyn had been chained to a wall, screaming in pain. She had screamed Sorin's name.

Talwyn's face was visibly paler as she watched the man, and Scarlett found herself stepping in front of her.

"It's been a while," she said casually to the man. "My dreams are not entertaining enough for you as of late?"

A smile twitched on the man's lips, but never completely formed. "Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps I have other things to do besides make appearances in your dreams?"

"No, not really," she answered.

"Who the fuck are you?" Talwyn demanded once more, stepping back to Scarlett's side. The fear was gone, replaced by lethal rage.

The man merely glanced at her before returning his full attention to Scarlett. "Walk with me, Lady of Darkness."

"Where are we?" Scarlett asked, coming to his side.

Maybe she hadn't actually woken up. Maybe this was a dream after all, and she would soon wake, Sorin beside her.

"This is real," the man said, seeming to read her thoughts. "And you are right. You have nothing to fear from me."

"I have to disagree with that statement," Talwyn muttered, having come to Scarlett's other side.

" She has nothing to fear from me," the man said. Then with a shrug, he added, "Others are not so lucky when I need to get her attention."

"You have my attention now," Scarlett said, before Talwyn could retort. "And this is the most chatty you've ever been, by the way."

"We had to…get to know each other first," he replied. "But to answer your original question, we are on a spiritual plane for lack of a better explanation. Think of it as a space between worlds."

"Between worlds?"

"There can be other lands, but not other worlds?" the man asked simply.

"Well, I suppose so…" Scarlett trailed off. Maliq and Shirina had taken up the lead again, and she couldn't help but wonder at the sight of panther and wolf trotting down a path side-by-side. As they rounded a corner, they came to a clearing, and Scarlett halted. It was the clearing where she had seen Callan reading the first time. Her heart stopped and her stomach lurched.

"Are we in Baylorin?" she breathed.

"No. We are in the spiritual plane nearest that land, though. For you to see," he answered. He pointed, and there, in the exact spot the prince had fallen asleep reading, the air seemed to shimmer.

Scarlett walked closer, examining the spot. It was as if there was a true rip in the air. It was how the screens looked when she Traveled. She reached to touch it, but cool fingers stopped her.

"What is it?" Talwyn asked, walking around the glimmer slowly .

"Indeed," was all the man said.

An icy wind blew through the clearing. The eagle at the man's shoulder let out a sharp cry, flapping into the air. Scarlett jumped at the sound. The man stiffened and drew the dagger from Scarlett's side. He slashed his palm and then reached for Scarlett's. She jerked back from him, but Shirina was behind her, nudging her forward.

"You must go," the man hissed. "But there is more you need to know. This will help you remember."

Shirina was nudging her hand, and the winds were picking up.

"Fae magic cannot be found here," Talwyn called over the gusts. "I cannot touch my magic here."

"Neither of you can," the man said, reaching once more for Scarlett's hand. He slashed her palm and allowed his blood to mix with hers. Dipping his finger into the mixed blood, he yanked down the collar of her tunic. The Mark was two inverted triangles, with a swirl between them and two stars at either end. It flared bright white before settling in silver white against her skin, just like the stars on her forearm.

"You are doing well, Lady of Darkness," he said. Scarlett could have sworn there was fondness in his eyes. "Finish the Trials, find the keys, and come home."

"Come home?"

But the eagle screeched again, and the man turned to the queens. "You must go. You cannot be seen here."

"Be seen here? In a spiritual plane?" Talwyn asked doubtfully.

"What did you mean ‘come home'?" Scarlett demanded again.

But silken fur brushed against her hand, and she was pulled into nothingness.